Track five mindfulness of sounds and thoughts meditation coming to sit and bringing your awareness now to your breath aware of the breath as it moves in and as it moves out of the body perhaps noticing where you feel the breath most in the body that might be the nostrils,
The chest or down in the abdomen and when you're ready expanding your awareness to include the whole body becoming aware of the whole body perhaps noticing where the body makes contact with the chair or the floor perhaps noticing any sensations in the hands or the feet aware of the breath aware of the body and you're ready now shifting the spotlight of your attention to your sense of sound just noticing the sounds as they arise stay a while and go there's no need to search for sounds just noticing what's there becoming aware of obvious sounds becoming aware of subtle sounds aware of the space between sounds aware of silence noticing the tendency we have to interpret sounds to attach stories and meanings to them as best you can letting go of that just becoming aware of the sounds qualities as they arise stay a while and go and when it's right for you allowing sounds to fade away and beginning to notice thoughts let thoughts become centre stage and just the sounds arise and stay a while and go so two thoughts develop stay a while and go no need to make the thoughts come just watch them as they arise and if there seem to be no thoughts letting that be as well a bit like clouds in the sky thoughts arise they drift through the mind stay a while and go the clouds may be dark and stormy or light just letting them arise and pass you may find other analogies helpful here you might like to imagine your thoughts are like leaves on a stream and you're sitting on the bank watching them float past and if any thoughts come to you of intense feelings pleasant or unpleasant as best you can just notice their emotional charge and as best you can letting them be if your mind repeatedly becomes unfocused or scattered just come back to the breath using the breath to steady and anchor you thoughts arise stay a while and go and when you're ready now letting go of awareness of thoughts and bringing your attention back into the room perhaps noticing the sounds outside the room or inside the room and slowly opening your eyes or raising your gaze as we bring this sounds and thoughts meditation to a close.
